


Road to recovery

by Kia619



Series: Angstgent 24 [7]
Category: Splatoon
Genre: Angst, Everyone Is Alive, F/F, Hospital, Injury Recovery, Lesbian Cephalopods (Splatoon), for now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:01:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24475405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kia619/pseuds/Kia619
Summary: Agent Three has been saved from the bowels of Kamabo by Agent Eight, but Three's battle isn't over yet. She still needs to get her injuries treated, and Eight needs to deal with the knowledge that Three might never be the same after this.
Relationships: Agent 3/Agent 8 (Splatoon), Agent 4/Marie (Splatoon), Callie/Dedf1sh (Splatoon), Marina/Pearl (Splatoon)
Series: Angstgent 24 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1466896
Comments: 36
Kudos: 56





	1. The Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there! Sorry for the delay on this one, I was behind and didn't want to upload a half-assed product so I took an extra week to polish it up, enjoy!

“We’re coming out” Eight’s voice called through the communicator. Everyone breathed a visible sigh of relief. Marina tacked a few commands into her laptop to make sure the path remained open as Eight and Three made their way out. Marina had found a way to deal with the pesky Octo Snipers that had pinned Eight down briefly earlier, allowing Eight a much safer path out than she had going in. Eight noticed that the Octoling that was in the room with Three was following them out, however she seemed docile, at least for now, so she wouldn’t focus too much on her, just on getting Three to safety.

Callie and Marie stopped singing, their voices worn and throats sore from keeping Eight egged on for so long. But it was worth it. Both Eight and Three were their friends, and they’d do anything for them. They came down from the makeshift stage Pearl had set up for them to properly perform the Calamari Inkantation, and made their way over to the rest of the group.

“Okay I’m tracking Eight, she should be out in just a moment.” Marina called out to everyone. They all gather near the entrance that Eight had gone through not too long ago, Marie looking to be the most relieved out of everyone. 

“Thank gods they’re okay. Callie, we need to do something for Three. She’s gone through entirely too much.” Marie says to her cousin, trying not to let on that she was worrying like a mom does and failing miserably. Marie was the one that was always the most concerned about anyone and everyone that was on a mission, and she was just as concerned about Eight as she was about Three, but the level of concern for Three was compounded by the fact that she’d been down there so much longer.

“Yeah I agree, maybe once she’s fully back on her feet we could like, take her and Eight out on a real fancy evening… one which doesn’t end with them nearly being killed ya know?” Callie chuckles, their lives put them in far too many life or death scenarios and it would probably be really nice for Three and Eight to get a proper break. Plus, they needed to give them a proper night out together, not like the last time… which ended in them being assaulted in a nightclub.   
  
“Yeah, agent work is difficult and they’ve both earned a real big break even without this” Marie chuckles, knowing full well that Callie was trying to ease her nerves. It worked to a degree, but Marie still worried about Three. She’d been down there god knows how long. At least she knew for a fact that Eight was still okay, since it was HER voice that called through and told them that they were on their way out.

They heard footsteps echo from within Kamabo, but they were slow and pained. Everyone’s eyes fixate on the opening, and soon a figure begins to emerge from the hole they created to enter the facility. They now see just why those steps were so pained. Everyone’s pupils shrink as they watch in disbelief as Eight, fighting back tears, carries the nearly lifeless body of Three out of the darkness. Eight’s face is stoic but her eyes and lip quiver slightly as she carries Three into the light.

Three’s body is in horrible shape, her right tentacle was cut off, and at the base of where it had been looked burned and scarred, meaning it wasn’t coming back. Her body looked significantly thinner. The scar on her face was practically glowing. And if you looked closely at her wrists, you could see similar scars to the one on her face lined them. There was orange ink still dripping from her thigh and stomach. The only good thing about Three’s condition was that she was still breathing. Three was tough as nails and wouldn’t stop fighting, even if her body had to be the one to put up the fight for her.

Without hesitation upon seeing Three’s condition, Pearl immediately got on her phone and called for a helicopter to pick them up, but insisted that only Eight and Three get on it. Pearl already knew Three needed to get to the hospital fast if she wanted to have any chance of survival, and if less weight saved two seconds, that was worth it. If not having to wait for all of them to get on board saved two seconds, it was worth it. Because two seconds might be the difference between life and death.

Just before stepping on to the helicopter, Eight pauses, and looks over at Marina. Marina can see the murder in Eight’s eyes and Eight speaks a simple request with so much venom it could poison everyone in Inkopolis.

“Blow it to hell.” Eight turns and boards the helicopter and it speeds off towards the hospital to hopefully save Three.

Marina brings up her laptop again, and begins typing commands into it. If this one act could bring Eight some solace, then she was doing it. Alarm bells begin blaring within Kamabo, and they echo from the opening they had made. Off in the distance the ocean begins to whirlpool as hatches and doors and anything Marina could open were opening to the ocean above. Then, to seal the fate of Kamabo, she hacked into their defense system, and detonated the warheads that lie beneath, turning the entire compound into nothing more than a distant memory. The water floods in and slowly but surely Kamabo is filled with the salty water, causing any and all beings still inside to meet their final fate. For most, it was a mercy. For the sanitized, it was peace.

Marina closes her laptop and puts it away, getting ready to start heading out, when another figure starts walking out of the opening. Everyone is on edge and ready to fight but… they seem harmless enough. The figure is an Octoling by the looks of it, patches of their skin were the sanitized teal, but the rest was freckle covered and just a few shades lighter than Marina’s skin tone. The Octoling looks up at the sky and smiles, before taking in a deep breath and letting it out. Everyone is still a little uneasy, that is, until the Octoling just walks over to a patch of grass and sits down. Callie decides to go over and talk to them, whereas Marie is on the phone to contact Jay, she needs to know what’s happening with her cousin. Pearl walks closer to Marina and places her hand on Marina’s shoulder, smiling up at her.

“Three’s going to be okay, and now they can’t hurt either of them anymore.” Pearl squeezes Marina’s shoulder, choking back a sob, she’d been so worried about both of them. Eight was like a daughter to the both of them, even though she was a literal sister to Marina, and Three was already like family as well. Pearl is just glad that her family is at least somewhat okay, Three and Eight were absolutely getting some kind of treat as a result of this, be it a big vacation to somewhere exotic, or maybe they’d just buy them a house since they knew Three had been looking for one on occasion.

Marina smiles back, putting her arm around Pearl in response before leaning down and kissing her forehead. They both knew that this was going to be a strange time for everyone involved, between Eight and Three having their worst fears realized, to Marina and Pearl watching Eight march into uncertainty and danger and knowing she has to. It was always painful when she had to take a risk like this, but they’d never watched her cross the threshold between safety and mortal peril so directly before.

“We should go home, we can check up on Eight and Three at the hospital tomorrow.” Marina pauses, she knows everyone there wants to go now, including her, but she also knows that what they both need right now is space. When Three wakes the first thing she should see is her lover. She will see her friends shortly thereafter, but she should see Eight first. “We need to let them get Three stable, she’s got Eight, she’ll be fine. I know she will.”

Everyone glanced over to the distant chopper speeding towards Inkopolis general hospital, and prayed that Marina was right. Reluctantly they gathered their things and headed home. Three had to be okay, she was Three, she could handle anything, right?

\--

Eight lays Three down on the floor of the chopper as it flies them to the nearest hospital. She wanted nothing more than to continue holding her in her arms, but they were tired and she would rather set her down gently than accidentally drop her. The pilot made sure the hospital knew that there was an emergency delivery coming to their roof. Eight, not having the strength to continue holding Three in her arms, opts to just hold Three’s hand in her own. 

“Hang on Three, I know you can make it.” Eight squeezes Three’s hand gently, she doesn’t fully believe the words coming out of her mouth, but dammit if she isn’t going to try anyways. She can’t lose her. She WON’T lose her. 

As soon as they arrive, there are nurses waiting with a stretcher to take Three inside. Upon seeing her condition, they all share a collective worried look which does nothing to ease Eight’s aching heart. She hands Three over to them as they load her onto the stretcher and rush her inside. Eight thanks the pilot of the helicopter before they take off and heads away from the hospital to keep the landing pad clear.

Eight is instructed to wait in the waiting room. Something she’s none too keen about, but she understands. The next hour may as well have been a decade. Every second Eight kept worrying. She prayed to whatever gods may exist to please let Three be okay again. She’d been through too much already, she didn’t deserve this too.

After the first hour passed, a Doctor entered the waiting room. Eight perked up immediately but didn’t rise from her chair, not yet. There were still a handful of other people in the waiting room and he could be here to call on any of them… but she is genuinely hoping he’s here to tell her that Three is going to be okay… she just needs good news, something, anything.

“Kiaria Ida?” He called. Eight stands up and walks over to him, taking a deep breath and putting on a brave face. She’d faced the horrors of Kamabo  _ twice _ now, she could handle whatever this Doctor was about to say to her. She stands not far from him, but not so close that she’s invading his personal space. She smiles at him with a pained smile, her concerns finally getting the better of her.

“Yes that’s me. Is Thr- I mean Alex going to be okay?” That name felt weird coming out of her mouth, but in this environment, it’s what she had to use. She knew Three preferred to be called by her agent number, but these doctors wouldn’t know that, and even if they did, there was a level of professionalism and interpersonality that came from using one’s true name.

“She’s stabilized for now, but she’s lost a lot of ink. Her natural colour of Orange would’ve been a blessing a few years ago, but it’s a curse now. Orange just isn’t common anymore, turns out it’s a recessive ink color, and to make matters worse, most Inklings can’t hold orange for very long if it isn’t their natural colour.” The Doctor breathes a heavy sigh. “We need to find a compatible donor soon or she may not wake up.”

Eight’s hearts sank. No way this could happen. Not to Three. Not to her. It wasn’t fair! Three had gone through so much bullshit and Eight couldn’t accept that it would end here for her. There HAD to be something that could be done to help her.

“How do you know if someone is compatible?” Eight asked, wondering if she could help in any way to undo the damage. Thanks to some studying she had done, she’d come to find that Octoling and Inkling ink are practically identical, and as such if all they needed was orange, Eight could hold Orange as long as she wanted. She’d been on plenty of missions with Three where she’d had to shift to orange on the fly to keep from accidentally splatting her, and then she’d go on to spend the rest of the mission that way without even realizing until later when her body eventually shifted back to the navy blue that it seemed accustomed to now.

“It isn’t an exact science as we’d like it to be, but orange is just a difficult color for a lot of Inklings to maintain. We could shift her own ink color to match what we have but she’s lost too much, her body simply won’t allow it to shift color until it’s restored.” 

“So, they just have to… be the same color?” Tears well in Eight’s eyes. Hope sparked in her mind, Three had a chance now. Eight knew what she had to do and she was beyond willing to do it. Anything for Three, especially after what she’d been through.

“Yes. Naturally orange inklings are just a rarity now.” The doctor's voice is pained, like he’s had to give this explanation one too many times before. “We either need someone who can hold Orange for a long time, or someone who was born orange.”   
  
Eight shifts her colour to orange without a second thought. Surprising the doctor in front of her. He hadn’t ever seen someone be so prepared before. Eight was more than ready to sacrifice all she had to if it meant saving Three, she couldn’t bear the thought of a world without her lover.

“Take my ink, I’m orange now and I don’t even have to think about keeping it there.” The welled tears start to flow down her face, she’s going to do this. She is going to save Three. “Orange is second nature to me now, please just save her.”

The doctor nods, the look on his face signifying that this is a very uncommon outcome. They take Eight into an exam room to run a few tests. They take samples to make sure it does in fact match Three’s ink. They make sure she can hold the colour under pressure. They confirm that she can, in fact, hold her ink at orange almost like it was her natural colour. And that she’s willing to do anything if it means helping Three.

They have Eight sit in a recliner next to Three, and they hook them together with a pump between them to keep the ink flowing from Eight to Three. A faint pumping noise can be heard, at first Eight feels a little lightheaded as the ink leaves her body, but she gets used to it quickly. She chances a glance over at Three, she can already see some colour returning to her face. Eight is finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. Three is going to be okay. 

Eight is given some food and some water to help her own body reproduce ink faster so she doesn’t end up in the same spot as Three. She requests a book so she can read while she sits next to the girl she loves. They oblige and provide her with a copy of the book she’s been meaning to read for ages. The only book Three even owned at home. 

“Love and war” Eight chuckled to herself quietly. “You and I have seen plenty of war, I hope when this is over we can just focus on love.”

Eight smiles over at Three, the monitors hooked into her occasionally flash a little light to indicate they’re still working. Sometimes something will beep and a nurse will enter the room to check on both Three and Eight. 

Eight speeds through the book, having nothing else to draw her attention makes her a fast reader. She realizes why it’s Three’s favourite book. The main character was a stoic general who always put the success of the mission first. But then between missions while they’re away from the army, they meet a beautiful girl who is so soft and sweet and she totally changes the General’s outlook. The General starts to value life more, and much to the joy of the girl, The General values her own life more as well. At the end of the book, when the war is over and The General can finally rest, the girl is waiting for them. They waited because they knew that when the war was over, the warriors needed someone to show them how to rest.

But what Eight found the most intriguing was the name of the General, it was only spoken once in the last chapter of the book, by the very girl they had fallen in love with. The girl spoke it with such softness and reverence, as though speaking it out loud was a proper sign that the war was well and truly over. The name the girl said when the title General was no longer needed, was Alex.


	2. The Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three wakes up in the hospital and has to start coming to terms with the events that have left her scarred and damaged.

Three slowly regained consciousness, her head hurt like hell and she felt very hazy. Had she been drinking? How much did she have? She opens her eyes and the world around her slowly stops being blurry as she tries to adjust to the light. A grunt can be heard from her as her pupils slowly shrink to the correct size to not let far too much light into her eyes, finally after a few moments she can actually see again. She looks around her and sees all manner of machines she doesn’t recognize, questioning why they’re here or what their purpose is, but then after looking to her right, she spots something she does recognize and it calms her.

Eight was asleep on the recliner, her head against the backrest with a thin little pillow under it, and a very thin blanket over top of her. She looked mostly comfortable enough, though she seemed slightly more pale than usual. Three was going to question why Eight was in a recliner and why she seemed somewhat pale… but then noticed the subtle pumping noise. Three turns her head to look down to its source and noticed there was an ink pump between the two of them, with lines going towards both of them.

She followed the lines and realized they led under the blanket Eight was resting under, she then also noticed that Eight had shifted to Orange. Wait, why was Eight orange? She looked again at the pump and followed the other line and found it entering her own arm. Suddenly, every event that had transpired in the last 48 hours that she had been conscious for comes flooding back as she’s reminded that her ink supply had been dramatically reduced to the point that she was about to be dragged into a sanitization chamber.

“No no!” Three’s heart rate picks up quickly, she begins to sweat and her breathing becomes shallow. The monitors blare alarms as they detect her hearts beating too fast and her body not inhaling enough oxygen from her hyperventilating. The beeping of course only serves to stress her out more as now there are literal alarm bells blaring in conjunction with the figurative ones blaring in her mind.

Quickly nurses enter the room, their goal being to de-escalate the situation while still allowing Three to remain awake, her body can recover plenty while she’s asleep, but her mind can only heal while she’s awake. They have sedatives just in case she’s  _ too _ hysterical, but they hope they don’t have to use them. One of the nurses holds her hands up to show Three she’s not going to hurt her, as she starts to talk to the Inkling and try and calm her.

“Alex, listen to me, you’re okay, you’re safe. Just breathe. Okay? Breathe.” The nurse gives a reassuring smile, and Three reluctantly agrees, and finds her hearts start beating at a much more normal rate. The monitors stop beeping and Three is able to relax. She glances over to Eight and sees she’s still asleep, a gentle rise and fall of her chest confirmed to Three that Eight was perfectly fine. Slowly Three manages to get her mind into the current moment, and away from the flashbacks. She reaches a hand up and toys with the stump that used to be her right tentacle, something she’d just have to live with now.

“Alex, you have some visitors who would like to see you, should I send them in or would you like more time to yourself?” The nurse asks, now that Three is awake she should at least know her friends are there to support her. Three perks up a little and nods gently, seeing her friends sounds like exactly what she needs right now.   
  
“Y-Yes please… I want to see my friends…” Three smiles calmly, remembering that she’s not alone and that there’s people who love and support her. Something she wishes she’d understood when she originally returned from Kamabo, before she and Eight hit it off. She was so set on being a stick in the mud and she honestly doesn’t even remember why. Right now she just wanted to see her friends, she wanted to have the support, she wanted to not feel alone.

The nurse smiles and leaves the room, presumably to tell Three’s friends that she’s open to seeing them. Three wonders just who would be there, would Jay be there? She hoped so, she missed her cousin. Especially right now. Three thinks back on what’s happened since she realized Jay was in Inkopolis, and she realizes that she hasn’t spent nearly enough time with her. Sure they both had a lot going on in their lives, but that’s no reason to not spend time with family, especially family you care about. Three tells herself she’s going to have to spend some proper time with Jay when she gets out of the hospital, she’s just been reminded how quickly her life could end up being taken from her, so she wants to make sure to spend as much of it with the people she cares about as she can, she’s sure Eight will understand the need to spend some time with family as well as with her.

Before too long, the door opens again and sure enough, there’s Jay with an oversized balloon that says “get well soon!” on it, and a comforting smile on her face as well. Jay comes over and ties the balloon to Three’s bedframe and leans in to give her cousin a hug. Three is just strong enough now to return the gesture, and the two share an embrace for a few minutes. Jay is overjoyed that Three is  _ alive _ but not thrilled about her condition, and Three is just happy to see her cousin again. Jay had looked at the stump of a tentacle on the side of Three’s head with concern, but seeing as it was the only permanent reminder of what happened, Jay didn’t want to draw too much attention to it.   
  
Three lays back again, feeling the spots where her body had been stitched back together sting a little as her body slowly heals itself, stretching them out to hug Jay had caused discomfort but it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle, it was nothing compared to what gave her those wounds in the first place. These were going to be some nasty scars that’s for sure. She smiles at Jay and now just holds her hand, happy to have the familial support.

“Hey Alex, how’re you holding up?” Jay asks with a concerned smile, noticing that her cousin looked far paler than she did the last time she saw her… and apparently she was previously in WORSE condition. Needless to say, she was very concerned about her cousin.

“Well… my body kinda feels like it’s on fire… my muscles are sore and ache… I was stabbed a few times so those spots are especially pained… but I’m alive, I’m back on the surface… and most importantly, I know you and Eight are safe and okay… so I’m doing about as well as I can be given the circumstances” Three chuckles a little, which prompts a cough and a wince as her body is still in disrepair.

“Well… just try and take it easy okay? You were always the first one to run off in search of adventure when we were kids… maybe let someone else defy the odds and cheat death for a while” Jay smiles warmly and squeezes Three’s hand. Three knows that her cousin is looking out for her, and she appreciates it. 

“Of course… If I find out this is some kind of fever dream in my final moments of life I am going to be very upset” Three smirks prompting Jay to roll her eyes.

“You always were incapable of truly taking anything seriously.” Jay laughs lightly, knowing that her cousin is, at least mentally, mostly okay after what happened.

Three just smiles and rests her head again, focusing on breathing for a moment. She clears her mind and just tries to focus on what’s good right now, right this second. A trick her therapist taught her a while back. Just because she’s suffered doesn’t mean she has to only focus on it, she can allow herself to be happy and grateful for the good in her life without undermining the impact the truly SHIT experiences have on her. It just allows her to stay positive while she heals and deal with the damage when she’s stronger.

“Jay… I’m… I’m sorry we haven’t talked much. I know I’ve been busy with Eight and… I know you understand that, and I’m so grateful that you do. But I want to try and be a better cousin… Once I’m out of here, let’s you and me have a girls night… like we did when we were kids” Three smiles, hoping to comfort her cousin somewhat. She knows this whole ordeal must be a lot for her to take in. She’s probably the third most affected by what happened, and even then it could be argued she’s the second. With Three obviously being the most affected, and Eight being the one who is affected around the same as Jay.

“I… I think I’d really like that Alex. You and I always were unstoppable, no wonder we both became agents. But, focus on healing for now, okay? You’ve got us, me and Eight, and don’t forget Callie and Marie too! They’re all ready to help, Marie really hopes you’ll allow her to help more, she  _ wants _ to help you. She considers you a close friend.” Jay takes hold of Three’s hand again, the familial love showing through her actions more than it ever could through her words.

Three smiles and nods, agreeing that maybe she should think about getting better before she thinks about any big plans. Wait a second… why was Jay so specific about  _ Marie _ . Why not anything about Callie? Maybe it had something to do with what she herself and Callie had been, but that was ages ago and this was now… no there’s something else going on here. There was a certain way Jay would… lift… when talking about Marie. Ohhhhh there’s something there.

“So uh… whatcha think about the Squid Sisters now that you finally have the chance to know who they are?” Three smirks a little, she’s gonna get to the bottom of this. “You know you got really lucky getting to meet both of them the way you did, what was it like working with Marie?”   
  
Jay’s face instantly yellows a bit as her ink warms up her face, now she’s just thinking about Marie. Three already knows that, at the very least, her cousin has a crush, and it’s cute. Jay stammers for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts but failing miserably several times, causing her to become even MORE flustered.   
  
“Uhh… M-Marie’s nice… she makes a lot of puns so we get along quite well… and Callie, well, she’s alright too. Callie has a bit more of a bubbly personality but Marie has more of a… well… she’s like you in a way, kinda stoic but also has an amazing smile” Jay rests her chin in her hand as she starts thinking about Marie’s smile.

“Gotcha.” Three says with a big ole smirk on her face, knowing the exact feelings which Jay is having right now, since she herself had similar ones about Eight.

“What?” Jay turns to Three, confused.

“You, my dear cousin, have a crush on Marie!” Three giggles, she’d nuge Jay with her elbow but she’s got some issues moving that arm right now on account of what happened to that shoulder, but the smirk is quite prominent.

Jay freezes, and then looks around the room a little before leaning down and whispering.

“Is it… that obvious?” Jay blushes, feeling a little sheepish.   
  
“Mmm only to me, because I know you so well. If you’d seen me before Eight and I got together you’d have picked up on my pining probably even before  _ I _ did.” Three chuckles before wincing and grabbing her stomach, she’s maybe still a little weak.   
  
“Heh… How did you um… manage to ask her out? Or did she ask YOU out?” Jay prys, scooting a little closer to hear the story.

“Oh I asked her out… but DAMN if it wasn’t stressful. We were already really good friends and I didn’t want to make things awkward by asking her out… but it turns out she had the same feelings for me!” Three smiles, fondly remembering the simpler days when her and Eight were just a couple of cephalopods pining after each other.

“Oh really? That’s so lucky!” Jay smiles, she’s genuinely happy things worked out for her cousin. But her mood quickly shifts. “But… there’s no way Marie has feelings for ME too, that just… It’s wishful thinking, I mean she’s HER… and I’m just me.”

“If she truly values you as a friend, which I know she does, regardless of if she had romantic feelings for you, she’d be willing to at least go on a few dates. Don’t be afraid to ask her, hell, don’t even think of her as ‘Marie from the Squid Sisters’... think of her as “Marie my coworker” Three smiles, she knows Marie well enough to know that she’d never intentionally break someone’s heart, at least not someone close to her like Jay is.

“R-Really? You sure?” Jay beams, feeling a lot more at ease.

“Absolutely. Now, I’m sure Eight will be awake soon and I need to thank her for saving my life, just go to Marie. Tell her ‘You’re beautiful’ and then ask her if she’d like to go on a date, maybe have a place in mind and have done a little digging so you know when you can get reservations for.” Three chuckles, thinking about all the times her and Eight struggled to find a place to eat for date night because they were just too buy enjoying each other’s company to think about eating.

“I will! Oh thank you Alex, you’re the best cousin… I hope you get feeling better soon, I never did take it well when you got hurt” Jay chuckles and gives her cousin one last long hug before heading out the door, waving goodbye and closing the door behind her, she wonders if there’s any other visitors or if it’s just going to be Jay. 

Her question is answered very shortly as Pearl and Marina enter the room with concerned looks on their faces, both afraid for Three’s wellbeing as well as Eight’s. Marina has a cake in her hands and presumably it’s to help get Three’s blood sugar back to normal, meanwhile Pearl has the plates and utensils for said cake. Three smiles softly, maybe she’ll make it through today without much issue after all.


	3. M4rie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armed with the advice of her cousin, Jay sets out try and ask Marie out on a date. Hilarity ensues.

“Okay c’mon Jay you can DO this!” Jay had just arrived at home after visiting her cousin in the hospital, she’d gone there to show her support and to help Alex start feeling better with some positive reinforcement, and yet it feels like Alex helped HER more than she helped Alex. Maybe it was wrong that it was this way, maybe Jay should’ve done more for her cousin, but she’s never been in this position before, she’s not sure what else she could’ve done or said that might’ve proved useful to her older cousin. Though to be fair, Alex mainly needed rest right now while her body recovered from the literal physical trauma… gods she looked like she’d been through hell. It would probably be a while before she would even be able to start processing the mental effects of what happened to her.

Jay takes in a deep breath, then pulls up her phone and dials Marie’s number. She was sure it would just go to voicemail, Marie was so busy between being an idol and working with the Splatoon that she almost never answered her phone, it was much more reliable to get ahold of her via text since she could respond to one of those quickly. But Jay felt that something like this needed to be done in a more personal way than just text, and she wasn’t sure where Marie was, so she figures she’ll just… wing it, and ask her on a date over the phone. But Jay was nervous, especially since she expected to be met with the recorded answering machine message Marie had. Jay had spent several minutes rehearsing what she’d say in the message, getting it committed to memory so it wouldn't be an awkward jumble of words in Marie’s answering machine. But then, the unexpected happened, she picked up!

“Hello? Four- I mean… Jay?” Marie’s voice called through the receiver, she sounded happy, excited almost, like she was hoping for Jay to call. Jay was shocked about Marie actually having picked up and had to take a moment to collect her thoughts. Jay panics a little and almost forgets to reply but after remembering why she called in the first place, she takes a deep breath and calms her mind, remembering her cousin’s advice and deciding to open with the flirtatious pickup line.

“Hey Marie… uh… I’m beautiful, wanna go on a date?” Wait no that doesn’t sound right… she can almost hear Alex facepalming in the distance. Jay is mortified, she must’ve just absolutely botched her chance! She’s prepared for Marie to yell, to be upset with her, to just straight up hang up and never speak to her again. But then another unexpected thing happens, Marie just… giggles.

“I would’ve said ‘cute’ but I guess beautiful works too… and, I’d be honored Jay.” Marie says, you could almost hear her smile through the phone, and maybe even a hint of blush too. These words seemed to just further dumbfound Jay, she hadn’t expected this kind of response at all! Wait did Marie call her CUTE?! Jay would’ve replied with another attempt at flirting but she was too busy blushing intensely and being completely awestruck at how Marie has responded to what Jay said.

“Uhhh… uhhh… uhm…” Jay stammers for a moment, she was at a loss for words. She kept trying to think of a way to flirt again, to say something about how she adores Marie but nothing sounds right to her mind, they all sound forced and ingenuine, she has to say something or else Marie might think the line went dead! Focus Jay, focus, just suggest a date idea. “Uhh… How about a walk through Inkopolis park? Say around eight so we could catch the sunset?”    
  
“That sounds lovely Jay, I’ll be at your place around seven thirty so we can make it to the park by eight. See you later! *click*” Marie hung up quickly, Jay wasn’t sure why, but she agreed! It was so exciting! She was going to be going on a date with Marie! And it was an ACTUAL DATE! Not like what happened with Three and Eight where it was a whole ‘will they won’t they’ thing that everyone and their pet knew would actually happen. Oh but now she had to find something NICE to wear! 

“Shit” Jay looks down at herself and realizes she’s wearing sweatpants and a grease stained teeshirt, granted it was grease stained because after doing her league battles for the day with her team she had gone over to Crusty Seans’s truck and refueled her energy but still! Jay runs over to her bedroom and starts tearing through her closet. Surely there must be something cute but not over the top… Okay absolutely no way she is wearing pants though, those are reserved for functional purposes only, like agent work and when she needs to be warmer than just her underwear will allow for. No she needs something like a cute dress! Or maybe a skirt and a blouse? 

“Augh! Why is this so difficult?!” Jay realizes maybe she should’ve put a little more thought into this, but she isn’t going to give up! She shoves aside every pair of pants she owns and pretends they don’t exist, she doesn’t like pants at the best of times, the last thing she needs right now is to feel dysphoric while she’s on a date! She continues searching through her clothes, trying to fi- why is there a llama hat?  _ When did she buy this and why? _ She tosses the hat aside, it’s time to focus. She considers a skirt and blouse combo for a minute but then remembers that none of her blouses are clean at the moment, and she doesn’t have time to do laundry. She then digs a little deeper into her closet and... Oh! A sun dress! Perfect!

“Oh this is exactly what I need! Something cute but not over the top!” It’s a simple design, white dress with a sunflower pattern all over it, super cute and it accents her natural yellow tentacles quite well. She decides to go with the cream basics as shoes, sure they’re the default but she’s not exactly trying to draw attention to her feet anyways, she thinks that would be weird. As for her head wear, well why not her glasses! She actually needs them to see, so what better way to show her true self to Marie than something as simple as glasses! She sets the dress on her bed and then goes over to her bathroom to get freshened up, she’s gotta make sure she’s clean after all.

She takes a quick shower, she wasn’t dirty or anything but just in case. She wanted to make sure any and all of the potential smell of sweat from her ranked and league battles that day was completely washed away and nonexistent on her body. She lets the warm water wash over her and purrs softly, letting it envelop her as she relaxes, waiting a moment or so before finally starting to actually wash herself. She was glad to see that Alex had survived and was on the road to recovery. Not to mention she had given some remarkably helpful advice too, despite being stuck in a hospital bed. Jay really would have to go above and beyond to make sure she and her cousin spent some proper time together once she got out of the hospital. Jay had been having some success with ranked battles, and was putting together a team for tournaments, maybe she could see if Alex would consider joining it!

But that would have to be a question for another day. Jay had a date to go on! She was still surprised that Marie said “yes” to it, especially with how botched the attempt at asking was, but still! She wasn’t about to let this opportunity go to waste. She takes extra care to make sure her tentacles are clean and shined, maybe blushing a little as she imagines Marie gently caressing them, but she quickly quells those thoughts as she steps out of the shower and dries herself off, before heading back into her bedroom and getting herself dressed. She pats down the dress to make sure it’s free of wrinkles, she has to do everything she can to make herself as presentable as possible after all! Once she’s satisfied with the lack of wrinkles she gets her undergarments on and then slips into the dress.    
  
Something about wearing dresses always made Jay feel more comfortable about who she was, which she definitely needed right now as she got herself ready to go on a date with the girl she’s been crushing on for literal years. Sure Jay had next to no idea who Marie was when they’d first met, but at the time Jay’s only knowledge of the Squid Sisters was a passing mention, she’d never done much research. She also didn’t watch much TV or listen to much music outside of what was available in her small town, Alex was the one who got really into the whole music thing, even going so far as to take up drums! Jay was quite young when the Squid Sisters stopped by her and Alex’s home town on a tour, Alex had only just gained control of her humanoid form, and Jay was still a few years off.

Alex had won tickets to the concert but Jay sadly had prior arrangements that couldn’t be altered. Alex was so sad she couldn’t take Jay. This was well before the Squid Sisters were even hosts of Inkopolis News too, that would be four years out still, but they were still gaining traction as young up-and-coming pop stars. To think that all these years later Jay would be GOING ON A DATE with one of them, neither Jay nor Alex would ever have guessed. 

Once Jay’s got everything on and she’s satisfied with how it sits on her body, she goes over to her vanity and sits down to start getting some light makeup on. She’s had this vanity since she was very young, Alex’s parents had gotten it for her when she moved in with them. It wasn’t cheap either, they’d gone above and beyond what they needed to do… probably because Alex insisted. It was a solid unit, built with both wood and metal, with a mirror that lit her face up with a ring of lights around the outside of it. It was white with multiple drawers for her makeup, and even a convex mirror for up close and personal touch ups that was on an adjustable arm.    
  
Jay doesn’t want to go over the top or anything, so she goes for a neutral look, opting to make her lips just a touch pinker than they usually are and maybe drawing some attention to them with the rest of her makeup, maybe it’s hopeful thinking but hey a girl can try can’t she? She smiles at herself in the mirror and blushes a little, she never thought she’d end up going on a date with someone so wonderful as Marie, but life truly is full of wonderful surprises! 

Jay was about to get going when her phone beeps at her. She grabs it and looks at it, reading the notification and realizing she’d set a reminder for herself. Time to take her hormones again! Jay again smiles, doing this now means she won’t have to awkwardly pause the date to take her hormones, even if she knows that Marie wouldn’t mind. She does quickly take them and finishes getting ready, she’s so beyond excited now that she can barely contain herself. She takes one last look in the mirror and makes sure her tentacles are situated and look clean, and that nothing is egregiously out of place. With a smile she heads for the door, making sure to have her phone and wallet on her, now just waiting for Marie to arrive so she can head out for her first date!


	4. A welcome visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three has an unexpected visitor, but she's not about to complain about the chance to converse with an old friend.

Two weeks have passed, and Three is… still recovering. Every day she’d get a little stronger, but she was still unable to walk under her own power. She was getting closer every day, but every time she failed she’d get frustrated, she’d try and try and try until they had to force her to stop before she hurts herself. Then Three would lay in her hospital bed and cry while no one was looking. She just wanted to be back to normal, she wanted to go on walks with Eight like they used to. She wants to start planning their wedding… Three just wants to be happy again.

Eight no longer had to be connected physically to Three to keep her alive, as the Inkling was no longer at risk of dying due to ink loss. So Eight took to making sure she did everything she could for Three. Between going out and getting her food that tasted better than hospital food, and going home and getting Three’s computer so she wouldn’t be bored out of her mind if she awoke at 3am and was unable to get back to sleep. Three appreciated Eight and everything the Octoling did for her, but she felt so helpless. She hated needing to have everything done for her, she could barely even wash herself and even then she needed a shower chair and nearly an hour to actually get clean. She was frustrated, she felt trapped in her own body. But the worst thing, the thing she hasn’t even told Eight about… was that her scar pain had resurfaced. It wasn’t as bad as before, no longer was it episodes that lasted for minutes, but occasionally she’d get one that would last upwards of ten seconds, and that period of time was absolute hell.

Three assumed the return of the pain was either related to the sheer level of stress and trauma she’d been through when she was captured, or due to the fact that her wrists had been slowly injected with more of the sanitization compound which resulted in it going up to her scar. She hadn’t had the chance to put any ice on it since she wasn’t at home and she wasn’t exactly sure how to bring up her pain to a doctor without ending up stuck in the hospital for longer, and she really just wanted to go home now. Home was where she felt safe. Here with all these machines and just… the medical atmosphere in general… it reminded her too much of Kamabo. Sure it wasn’t exactly the same but it was similar enough to be unsettling to her.

Three just stares up at the ceiling, it’s been almost three weeks that she’s been here, she hopes they let her go home soon. Eight wasn’t able to come by today, she had to be at the apartment to make sure they didn’t assume it was abandoned and let someone else move in. Eight was also probably trying to get it set up such that Three would be able to use the apartment while in a wheelchair until her legs were back to working. Three knew that’s what Eight was doing today, she heard her talking about it over the phone when she was pretending to be asleep. She appreciated Eight being so caring and doing all of these things that she knew she wasn’t able to do for herself yet but… that was the problem. She HATED that she had to rely so heavily on her friends. She’d been trying to open up to the idea of it a little more, she got Pearl and Marina to help out when she went to get the ring after all, but this was different. She was… broken.

Before Three could wallow in self pity for too long however, a nurse comes in to check on her. She got her vitals checked to make sure her body was still recovering, her ink pressure and ink levels were the first things checked, and they came back good. Her reflexes were getting better, her leg actually moved when they tested it this time! It was a good sign, she could see her legs starting to get some size again, no longer being the thin twigs they’d been in the first week when her body drew ink away from her extremities to mend her core. They’d explained that, while her legs hadn’t faced any trauma, a result of losing so much ink was that her body tried to preserve itself as best it can, which meant that once she was no longer using her legs, her body pulled ink from them to keep her alive. Now, as a result, Ink was no longer good at flowing through them in the amounts it used to, so she’d need to train up her legs if she ever wanted to walk again. She was told that, after about six months of walking normally, she’d likely be back to where she was before. But she’d have to be training hard and making sure to not rest on them for too long. 

After the nurse was done the checkup, she announced that Three had a visitor! Three was surprised, she didn’t expect to see anyone today, they all had things going on. Callie and Marie had to go out on tour WITH Pearl and Marina. It was some joint tour that’d been planned and had been in the works for over a year. Three wasn’t upset, she encouraged them to go. She even joked “maybe when you get back I’ll be on my feet again”. They were weary but at least she was making jokes again. Jay was, unsurprisingly, going along with Marie. She’d heard that her cousin had taken her advice and that she and Marie were giving things a shot. Three was incredibly enthusiastic about Jay pursuing that avenue, because she felt like Marie would be good for her. And Eight was, as previously mentioned, predisposed.

Three, unsure who to expect, simply told the nurse to let her visitor come in. Much to her surprise, she heard the idle tak of a bamboo cane gently touching the ground as the old Captain Cuttlefish enters her room. Three feels a strange sense of calm wash over her, there was something about the old man that just made her feel at home. He reminded her a lot of her own grandfather actually, a sweet, kind old man, with many a story of the days when he was young. Three smiles as she makes eye contact with him, and he smiles back at her softly, pulling up a chair and sitting next to her.   
  
“Well hello there Agent Three… or should I just call you Alex?” The old man chuckles, taking Three’s hand and holding it softly to ensure she knew he was actually there, and not just a projection of her mind. He was well versed in ink-loss, he’d fought in a war after all. While he has many stories of battles that he won… he also had many stories of comrades he’d lost in the line of fire. “You never did tell me your name when I recruited you all those years ago, but your cousin seemed quite eager to share it.” 

“Yeah” Three chuckles softly as well, coughing a little as her body is still recovering, but nothing more than a mild blip. She takes a deep breath before smiling at him again. She had her own reasons for not sharing her name back then, she was trying to forge a new identity for herself, she was afraid that if people knew her name, they’d somehow link it back to her hometown and think less of her for it. How foolish that notion was. “But uh… yeah, it’s good to see you Cap’n”

“It’s good to see you too, Alex. Especially after what happened, it’s good to see you alive.” He smiles, resting his cane on his lap and pulling his hand back after a moment. He looks down at his cane/weapon for a moment, looking it over and making sure the safety is still on, which it is. He then looks back up at Three, hoping his presence helps calm her mind.   
  
“Cap’n… I… Thank you for coming today, I was afraid I’d have to spend today alone.” Alex smiles softly at him, relaxing her mind and starting to let her guard down a little. She could trust him after all. But just because she could trust HIM didn’t mean she could expect him to fight like he was still a young Inkling, so she was still a little on edge. But something about his presence just nagged at her to stop being so paranoid and let herself rest.

“That’s precisely why I came today. I wanted to make sure you weren’t left alone with your thoughts, thinking that somehow there’s something wrong with you for surviving!” He thwunks her head lightly with his bamboozler cane, he knew how the young agent's mind had been running, he’d had his own run the same way during the war.

“R-Right… ow… But still, I appreciate it all the same, it’s always good to see you.” Alex smiles again, rubbing the spot on her head that just got bamboozled. It’s like he knew exactly what was going through her mind and was actively counteracting it without shame. Which of course he  _ was _ . He’d been through this rodeo plenty of times, between himself, plenty of comrades in the war, and to a degree even his own granddaughters, he knew what self loathing looked like, and it was painted all over the young agent’s face.

He nods, giving her another soft smile as well. He had thought that Octavio’s actions had been despicable, but after witnessing the atrocities of Kamabo, he was almost willing to think about forgiving the old Octopus… ALMOST. But Octavio still had yet to truly prove he’d changed. Still, he was a lot less hostile these days, so if nothing else, that was a plus. Alex was recovering now, she’d been through entirely too much and she deserved rest. The old Cuttlefish had long decided that, even once she’s fully healed, Alex is getting a long break from agent work. It starts by using her real name rather than her agent number.

“It’s nice that we’re able to see each other without something trying to take over or destroy the world for once, even if the reason is… less than ideal. But remember, your friends will be there for you, no matter what. Don’t be afraid to rely on them, they WANT to help you.” The old Captain says to Alex, to which the young agent simply nods in agreement.

“I know, Cap’n, I know… I know they care about me, and I care about them too! I… I know I’m going to need their help to heal from this, and even then” She grabs the charred stump of what used to be her right tentacle, looking over at it with a pained expression. “I don’t know if I’ll ever fully heal.”

“Maybe you won’t. But maybe you’re not supposed to, maybe you’re supposed to take this and grow from it.” Captain Cuttlefish replies, sort of just thinking out loud but still trying his best to comfort the squid. Many of his own friends from war time had injuries like Alex’s current one, pieces of themselves that they lost in one way or another.    
  
“What exactly do you mean?” Alex tilts her head to the side a little like a curious dog. She’s more than willing to listen to his advice, she could listen to him talk for hours on end about his old war stories, his voice was just so comforting, it was like coming home. But she still didn’t quite understand what he meant, so she pays extra attention to his next words.   
  
“Well, maybe it can be something about yourself you embrace. Something that the world tried to throw at you as a bad thing, and then you turn around and make it a staple of who you are. Or maybe you just ignore it and pretend it isn’t there, whichever makes you happiest.” Captain Cuttlefish gives a soft smile, trying his best to comfort Alex with his words, knowing that surely Eight would be much better at it, or even his own granddaughters, but they’re all unavailable.

“Huh… I guess I hadn’t thought of it like that. I’ve been… so focused on what I lost, what was taken from me… I guess I never thought to turn that on its head…” Alex thinks to herself for a moment, pondering what she could do with this information. It wouldn’t be something that would just click instantly but, she figures it’s at least worth bringing up with her therapist when she’s able to see him again. Oh boy he’s gonna LOVE how long the list of things to talk about she has is, she’s been writing them down so she doesn’t forget, and as such, she pulls out her laptop and opens her document, jotting down the suggestion Captain Cuttlefish just made.

“So, how long until you’re able to go back home? I know you’re longing to sleep in your own bed again, and not smell that “hospital smell” that you’ve surely become all too familiar with.” Captain Cuttlefish inquires, he knows if he’d been in a hospital bed for as long as Alex has, he’d have surely driven himself mad with boredom.

“Hopefully I’ll be out of here by the end of the week… Eight’s gonna have to take over helping me strengthen my legs again since the doctors won’t be able to come to the apartment to do it.” Alex sighs, she really doesn’t like how much Eight has to do for her. It’s not that she doesn’t want Eight’s help, it’s more that she feels like she’s requiring too much of the Octoling.

  
“Well, I’m sure she’s more than happy to. Whenever we see her all she can talk about is how worried she is about you, and how she wishes she could do more. She really cares for you, don’t forget that.” He smiles at her again, making sure Alex’s mind doesn’t suddenly drift into the wrong territory. Alex turns to him and smiles in response, she knows what he did and she’s appreciative.   
  
“Thanks Cap’n, I’ll be sure to show her my appreciation any way I can.” Alex smiles as well, resting her head down. She was at peace for the first time in a while. Sensing this, Captain Cuttlefish decides it’s best the conversation ends there, but he doesn’t leave. He stays by her side in case she needs someone to talk to for any reason. Before too long, both the young agent and the old cuttlefish have both fallen asleep.


	5. Coming home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three is finally allowed to go home, but things will still never quite be the same. How will the inkling cope with the changes that have permanently altered her body?

The day finally came, Agent Three had been discharged from the hospital, and was now on the way home. She sat in the back seat of Callie’s truck so Eight could sit next to her and hold her hand, Marie was occupying the front passenger seat at the time as well. Three idly stares out the window into the distance, she can see the tower from Inkopolis Plaza and she has some idle thoughts about the past. Apparently some people still went there for battles, it was less common than the square, but most of the people battling there had modified weapons now. There were less people watching the matches there so they could get away with bending the rules. She’d heard stories about people who managed to somehow have an entire battle with both teams only wielding Inkzookas. She thinks that actually would’ve been a fun match to watch. But alas, she is on the way back to her apartment now, she wouldn’t be able to participate in any battles for some time, aside from as a spectator.

After a few minutes of driving, they pull up at the apartment building. Three sighs as the vehicle comes to a stop and she pulls her seatbelt off, Callie and Marie getting out first and going around to the bed of the truck. After a moment, Three’s door opens and the wheelchair she has to use is waiting for her. She insists on trying to get into it herself, Marie holding the door steady so she can use it to help get herself out of the truck without it moving on her. She lands with a bit of a thud, having dropped a little further than anticipated when she’d positioned herself over it. But now she’s in it, and Callie pulls the chair back so Eight can climb out the same door.

Three doesn’t say much, she just wheels herself towards the apartment building as Eight, Callie, and Marie carry whatever personal belongings were brought to the hospital up to the apartment so Three or Eight don’t have to make so a bunch of trips up and down the elevator. She’d been allowed to wear her own clothes after a few days, once she no longer needed the intravenous drip of medications. She was on a handful of meds which were designed to help get the flow of ink heading back to her legs, and to help ease the pain of her wounds.    
  
“Okay, we’re heading out, if you need anything don’t hesitate to call us okay?” Marie hugs Eight and then goes over and gives Three a hug as well, Three was fighting her tears because she was just so overwhelmed with everything right now, she hoped being home with Eight would help it. Callie then does the same as Marie, giving both of them a hug and smiling before heading back down to Callie’s truck and heading out. 

Eight turns to Three, who’s just staring at her hands at the moment. Naturally Eight’s response is to take hold of those hands and rub them softly with her thumbs. Three audibly fights back tears, taking a deep breath and squeezing Eight’s hands in return. She tilts her head up and looks into Eight’s eyes, she sees that the Octoling is smiling softly, and Eight would see that Three’s eyes are welling with tears. Three looks back down at Eight’s hand, and then she spots it, the ring, sitting on Eight’s finger. She pulls Eight’s hand closer and finally a smile creeps across the Inkling’s face.

“M-Maybe… things will finally start getting better.” Three manages to say, wiping the tears from her eyes and prompting a hug from her fiance. Three lets out a soft sigh and hugs back, finally putting her face into Eight’s shoulder and letting herself cry. She needed to do this, she needed to get out all of the raw emotions she had from what had happened, and Eight was the only one she trusted enough to be this vulnerable around.

“They will love, I promise.” Eight gently draws circles on Three’s back with her fingers, comforting her and just allowing her to have her moment. A lot of Eight’s own emotions about the situation had been shed to Pearl and Marina, primarily because Three needed to recover and didn’t need Eight adding on to it since she had her own support group available. Any other time she would’ve come to Three first, but this time, Three needed to heal too.

Three just lets herself break down, she was so afraid she’d never get to see Eight again when she was down there, so afraid her life was over, even more afraid she’d be used to hurt her friends and lover. She was so sure she was going to be sanitized, and she knows that if she was facing down a Sanitized Eight, she wouldn’t be able to pull the trigger. Maybe Eight is stronger than her, but in the moment, she just felt so much fear over the pain she could’ve caused. After a few minutes though, she finally feels herself calming down, and Eight pulls back from the hug a little to wipe Three’s tears and to give her another smile.

“We’re going to be just fine, okay?” Eight smiles and gently rubs Three’s cheek with her thumb. After a moment, Eight leans in for a kiss and Three leans in as well, pressing their lips together. Three finally felt herself relaxing, even purring softly. They remain together like this for a few moments, both of them can feel themselves relaxing as they both come to realize that yes, they’re home, and together. After a few moments of this, Eight pulls away from the kiss and Three finally smiles, blushing a little.   
  
“Can uhm… can you help me get onto the couch? I wanna watch TV with you for a while.” Three asks softly, it seems like something small, but in reality this was something she’d been wanting to do since shortly after waking up in the hospital. It would allow her to have a moment of pretending everything is fine, a moment where she can remind herself that the bad times are over, she’s safe and home now. It would give her the ability to finally convince herself that she wasn't just GOING to be okay, she WAS okay.

“Of course my love, anything for you.” Eight kisses Three again quickly and softly, wheeling the chair a little closer to the couch and then helping Three stand from it, supporting her body but doing her best to help Three simply walk to the couch. A few steps, but enough that Three can do it with Eight supporting her. Three smiles again, taking her seat and waiting for Eight to join her.    
  
Eight takes a moment to move Three’s chair to the side, so that when Three needs to use it it’s accessible, but when she doesn’t it’s not in her line of sight so she doesn’t have to think about it. Then she takes her seat, and Three leans into her, resting her head on the Octoling’s right shoulder. Eight grabs the remote and the TV comes to life, filling the room with light as she shuffles through channels to find something to watch. Eventually it just ends up on the news because they can’t be bothered to find a show worth watching, plus, it’s good to keep up on the happenings around Inkopolis. The news story today seems… quite interesting.

“Terrifying reports came in today about a malfunctioning spawn point, witnesses testified they spotted it sparking and even looking like it might catastrophically fail if someone attempted to respawn with it. Thankfully this was reported before any matches took place on the map, and technicians were quick to shut down all battles until they can check over every spawn point to ensure they’re all safe to use, and plan to increase the frequency of checks to ensure no incidents occur as a result of these spawn points.” The Inkling news anchor reports, it was clear she was reading off a prompter but all the same, you could hear her emotional reaction to it, she was surprised, as were Three and Eight.

“Gods could you imagine what would’ve happened had that not been caught?” Three comments, kinda just trying to make small talk, she’s got a thought on her mind but she doesn’t wanna jump right to it. She wants to just kinda, exist for a bit, so she makes small talk with Eight. She also is genuinely shook by the news that a spawn point could’ve KILLED someone, she couldn’t help but imagine Jay going off to battle, so excited, and then just not coming back, it chilled her to the core. But they said they’re going to be doubling down to ensure this won’t happen, so she’s confident that battles are still safe.

“Yeah, that could’ve been bad.” Eight agrees, idly rubbing the top of Three’s head without really paying attention to what her hand was doing. Three seemed to be enjoying it though so she kept doing it even when she did notice that she was doing so. If it helped Three relax, she would do it as long as she possibly could. After a moment, Three shuffles a little bit, turning her head to look up at Eight. Eight turns down the volume of the TV since it looks like Three wants to talk about something.   
  
“Hey uh, Eight… Can I ask you something?” Three has a curious look on her face, like she’s unsure what to expect when she asks her question, which to be fair she was. Three had been spending a lot of time thinking since Captain Cuttlefish had come to visit her, something he said had been stuck in her mind and she couldn’t help but feel like he was right.

“Of course love, anything, I’m all ears.” Eight smiles and shifts their positions so they can face each other a little better, stealing the chance to give Three a quick peck on the lips. Three blushes a little, but the kiss does seem to have calmed her nerves a little, which Eight takes as a win, Three’s been so stressed lately.

“Okay. This uh, this might sound weird but, when Cap’n came to visit me in the hospital… he kinda insisted on using my real name rather than my agent number… and I think… I think I liked it…” Three pauses for a moment, gauging Eight’s reactions to her words, and also to make sure she was still on board with her own idea. After affirming to herself that this is indeed what she wants, she finishes her thought. “So I thought… maybe we could do that. Use our actual names instead of our numbers… you can still call me ‘Three’ as like, a nickname, and also on duty it will be easier but… I would prefer it if you’d… start calling me Alex more often…”

Eight pauses for a moment, contemplating in her mind the things which her partner has said to her. She ponders a lot of things for how short of a time she’s actually thinking for. She thinks back to when they’d started dating, they were going by their numbers because that’s all Eight knew of herself, and Three preferred it. Slowly over time, both of them had begun hearing their real names more and more, and perhaps this was a natural progression. Eight hadn’t fully recovered from her memories coming back, there were still some things she’d seen that she truly wishes she hadn’t. But those were things she could leave in the past, her identity was tied to Three’s… or rather… Alex’s.

“Okay, let’s do it. It’ll probably take a little time for me to adjust so… correct me if I mess up… and I think… I think I want the same as you… “Eight” is a good nickname and will be good for agent things but, at home, when I’m with you, let’s leave the agent stuff at the door. We’ll just be Kiaria and Alex, two dorks in love with each other” She smiles as she rubs her lover’s cheek. Both of them are smiling at each other, and then they lean in and give each other a soft tender kiss.

“Thank you love… I give it a month before we’re using pet names based on our real names” Alex giggles and pecks Kiaria on the lips again quickly, both purring softly and sharing the closeness. They finally had a moment where they were truly their own. No more agent numbers tied to them, no, they were their own cephalopods now. They would not be defined by their past but rather by the lives they forge together.

“I give it a week” Kiaria giggles in response and leans in for another kiss, one which lasts much longer than before. They remain close together, their lips inseparable as the TV just continues playing the news channel with no one paying any attention to it. Alex and Kiaria were going to be just fine, nothing could possibly get between them and their love, they’d faced so many challenges as it is, surely nothing that could happen to them would be worse than what they’ve already faced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's this arc completed! As usual I will be taking a week off after this arc to make sure the next one is fully edited and ready to go out, see you in two weeks!
> 
> Also, if you like Agent 24, consider joining my Agent 24 discord server! - https://discord.gg/NywZuh9


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